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Confronting and benefiting from sustainability standards in global markets The basic steps for greening enterprises in developing countries are also relevant for the commercial challenge of attempting to enter – or remain in – world markets, and having to meet an increasing number of environmentally-related standards to do so. These standards require enterprises to reconfigure their products and/or processes to meet the requirements of their international customers or the laws of the countries to which they wish to export, and to certify that they have done so. In other words, they must be able to:  Redesign their products so that they meet any pertinent environment-related product standards;  Reconfigure their processes so that they meet any pertinent environment-related process (technology and management) standards;  Certify that their products and/or their manufacturing processes meet these standards.

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Trends Dynamic relationship between technical regulations and private standards  Many standards in the area of consumer health and safety have evolved into legislation. On the other hand, many legislative requirements have translated into stricter private requirements (that can be illustrated by the organic products labeling.) Transparency and traceability across the value chain  Higher transparency within the value chain and traceability of products – the pressure to comply with private standards is transmitted down the value chain. New sustainability concerns: water and energy efficiency  In the past few years, many new demands related to climate change and the sustainable use of resources, such as energy and water, have emerged as a result of international concerns about sustainability. Buyers are responding to these concerns by already factoring energy, water and carbon into their codes and requesting their suppliers to take certain mitigating measures.